Pringle’s  Potato Chips is a great example of how large corporations are taking advantage of this phenomenon that’s sweeping the globe. They currently have over 15,000,000 fans and growing. A fan is someone who has clicked on the  LIKE button and in doing so has given them(in this case Pringles) the right to market their brand and products to them directly. With one status update their message could be seen by potentially 15 Million People! And these are just potato chips…

Victorian Secret’s approach to Fanpages is simplistic yet extremely effective. Also boasting over 15 Million fans, they have incorporated e-commerce into their social marketing strategy and have effectively increased their sales and branded themselves  leaders in social network marketing. They are offering free apps for “LIKING” their pages so now you can take sexy with you anywhere!

Lady Gaga has leveraged the power of her Fanpage to over 43 Million fans. Using video on Fanpages is an extremely effective way to get pages to go “VIRAL”. Basically viral means that the page or video creates a social buzz which gets fans talking about it and passing around to their friends and family who in turn pass it along and so on and so on etc…

Some pages have been known to grow by hundreds of thousands of fans in as little as a single day!

What about Small business?

Local businesses have recently begun to realize that Fanpages aren’t just for large companies anymore. Getting small business fanpages to grow has become a viable and inexpensive medium for building company exposure and increasing sales while establishing a brand.

The methodology is the same… Offer a gift or a bonus for the simple act of  “CLICKING LIKE”.  When the Like button is clicked on it automatically unlocks another page with instruction on how to get the gift.

The first page is called The Landing Page or a ‘LIKE REVEAL’ page. This is where a visitor see’s the offer and is enticed to click the like button. When they do click on that button, not only do they get their gift but they are also posting to their wall that they have liked that particular pages. When their friends see that, they may be compelled to do the same and so on. A good offer often can go viral extremely fast. The average Facebook user has close to 2oo friends, and their friend have friends etc.

Here’s an example of a simple Fanpage with a LIKE REVEAL.

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The 1st page offers the enticement to “like” the page in exchange for free instant access to software that can be used to create professional looking Fan pages in as little as 10 minutes.

Click on the ‘Join Us’ link to the left for a demonstration!

The 2nd page is the REVEAL page and is what the visitor will see after they click on the like button. A business can offer a variety of offers here. Coupons are one of the most popular offers of a reveal page and  often contains a coupon code that fans can print and redeem at a physical location

The yellow button in the first screenshot that is offering Instant Facebook Access is an application that can be included into Facebook Pages. These applications open up in separate windows asking for permission to access information that is already public. This gives the Fanpage owner the ability to use the information for future marketing endeavors. This can be an extremely powerful tool and can increase the viral ability of a page dramatically.

Facebook has revolutionized the way businesses are approaching their marketing campaigns.  Newspaper,  Radio, and Yellow Pages simply don’t work anymore. A facebook Page, once in place, can generate business for years with little or no maintenance. A facebook account is free and anyone with a computer, smart phone, or tablet can create an account in as little as a couple of minutes.

If you’re interested in creating your own Fanpage, we have some free software that you can use to generate a professional looking Fanpage in about 10 minutes.  Just click on the button below!

Are You A Business Owner in Western Mass or Northern Connecticut?

Take a look at our Members Area and Register your Business for Free in

The Stonebrook Directory

Quality Work From an Experienced Commercial Electrician

It can sometimes be difficult to find an Commercial Electrician in Western Mass that specializes in Commercial work. An experienced company knows that emergencies can arise at any time. At David Lavallee Electrical Services, we’re proud to provide Commercial Electrical services by an experienced, reliable Commercial Electrician. We’re a family owned and operated business serving Pioneer Valley with installs, repairs, remodels, and troubleshooting issues.

We provide efficient Commercial Electrical service to businesses, residences and industrial buildings. Call us today if you need a reliable Western Ma Commercial Electrician you can trust. Our Electricians can handle large and small jobs. We also offer the most affordable Commercial Electricians in Western Mass. Through our reputation and word of mouth, we have been able to hold strong since 1996.

Commercial Electrician When You Need It

Whether you’re looking for  a Commercial Electrician or help with your remodel, Electricians will provide you with the utmost service and attention. Call today and see why Western Massachusetts customers have reviewed us favorably. We’re glad to provide outstanding Electrical services by a qualified, licensed and insured Commercial Electrician. We’re also able to offer the best price in Hampden County.

If you’re looking for an Commercial Electrician in Western Mass, we’re honest, dependable and affordable. We’ve been providing Commercial Electrical services to Western Mass for years and are a name you can trust.   When you need an Commercial Electrician that can handle jobs both large and small, call  David Lavallee Electrical Services.

David Lavallee   (413) 478-6333

Stonebrook’s  skilled Bobcat operators are experienced at performing even the most challenging excavation and digging tasks. We offer residential and commercial Bobcat services in Western Mass and Northern Connecticut

We are excavation specialists and our Bobcat operators have experience providing excavating and digging services to assist in all types of construction, remodeling, landscaping and repair projects.  From digging basements, pools and foundations to excavating for driveways, sewer systems and landscaping, our Bobcat contractors can get the job done right. No job is too large or too small for our Bobcat equipment or our experienced Bobcat drivers and operators.

Read More… Unlock content.

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In Western Mass during this era when knob and tube was in common use, a typical home would have 30 or 60 amp electrical service, sufficient for general lighting and maybe a radio. In those days people were still using  “iceboxes”, wood or gas stoves, coal heat, and no air conditioning. Professional wiring by electricians in  homes was a new trade and there were very few rules.

American Electricians Handbook was the first home wiring guide to electrical rules which appeared around the turn of the century, when Terrell Croft wrote the  Crofts books defining early wiring practices. One of Croft’s rules was that knob and tube wiring should always be run through, never over the house framing. The problem with running wiring over framing is that it can get bumped, snagged, and damaged.

The advantage of knob and tube wiring is that it dissipates heat into free air, and therefore has a higher ampacity than cable systems with equivalent wire size. When originally installed in the 1900′s knob and tube wiring was less expensive than other wiring methods. Due to the installation cost, owners and electricians would opt for knob and tube versus conduit wiring and metal junction boxes. The conduit methods were known to be of better quality, but their cost was significantly higher than knob and tube wiring.

Modern wiring methods assume two or more load carrying conductors will lie against each other, for instance the standard non-metallic – 2 cable. Since the load carrying wires are in close proximity, when they heat up, the heating is shared across the wires, limiting the overall current load they can support. Since the load carrying wires in knob and tube wiring are widely spaced, the wires are capable of carrying higher loads without risk of fire.

Knob and tube wiring was usually insulated with cotton cloth and soft rubberand porcelain insulators. Although the actual wire covering may have degraded over the decades, the porcelain insulators have a very long lifespan and will keep any bare wires safely insulated. These same porcelain insulators were used with bare wire electric fencing for livestock. These insulators can carry very high voltage surges without the risk of shorting to ground. Many electricians understand that by running the hot and neutral conductors farther apart from each other than today’s electrical cabling does make shorts between those conductors less likely, at the same time realizing there is not a grounding conductor.

Knob and tube is insufficient for current usage patterns. Contemporary households use a wide range and intensity of electrical equipment that was unforeseen at the time of knob and tube inception. Household power use increased following World War II, first generation wiring systems became susceptible to abuse by homeowners, who would avoid repeated blown fuses by over fusing the circuits, thus subjecting the wiring to heat damage due to higher levels of current.

In many instances deterioration and abuse have rendered the wiring unsafe. During building renovations and remodeling wiring can become damaged. The rubber insulation will become dried out, brittle when handled, damage by rodent, or simple carelessness…

If you live in Western Massachusetts and you’re concerned about the Knob and Tube wiring in your home, give us a call for an in home inspection and estimate.

Ron Desellier Electric   (413) 478-6192

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How can SMS Marketing Help Your Business?

SMS Marketing is everywhere… you’ve seen it in ad campaigns for large brand name companies for a while now and small businesses are starting to turn toward this new and exciting advertising medium.

What is so appealing about SMS marketing?

Instant Marketing

Open rates are an astounding 97% for one thing. That’s right, almost all text messages sent are read, and usually within 15 minutes. Likewise, the redemption values of offers sent via text marketing are huge do to the customer relationship value developed by the text marketer. Consumers and businesses alike value the permission based platform of text marketing. You’ve seen the ads, you know… text the word “widget to 12345” and receive your free gift, to enter to win something, or to get a coupon. Large companies use this to reach thousands of consumers instantly. Well the good news is, this form of advertising isn’t just for large companies anymore. Short codes have become extremely affordable and small businesses can now implement the same strategies into their marketing campaigns.

Why has it become affordable to small business?

Text message application providers are now able to lease keywords on shared short codes. This makes SMS marketing accessible for small business clients like restaurants, service providers, retail stores, or any business that benefits from repeat customers. The many benefits of SMS marketing include but are certainly not limited to:

• Extremely high open rates
• Development of consumer relations
• Easy tracking of your ROI
• Instant Marketing to targeted consumers.

Imagine The Possibilities!

Say you own a restaurant and you‘re having a slow night. You have 7 tables that you need to fill and no one is expected, maybe there’s a snowstorm or something in your area that’s affecting your business. With one text you could send out a code to your customer base to redeem at your place for a two for one special or a coupon to redeem for that night only. How much would it mean to your bottom line to fill those 7 tables?

This is Instant marketing. In fact this is a marketing strategy that is not only highly effective, but has never been accessible before the introduction of SMS. According to a study by the Mobile Marketing Association

” marketing decision makers of businesses will increase mobile initiatives in their marketing campaigns and there is an indication the mobile budgets will increase by more than 124 percent. Out of all the marketing strategies polled, mobile marketing appears to be in the running for the greatest percentage growth.“

Digital marketing is in second while television spending and events/trade shows expanded to about 1.5 percent more. The largest drop seemed to come from print advertising – outdoor signage, newspapers, and direct mail.

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